The Stage 100 2023: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The Stage 100 is intended to reflect the 100 most influential people working in theatre and the performing arts. It is considered from the point of view of The Stage, as a trade publication, and so focuses both on theatre as a business and an art form. Inclusion within the list and ranking is weighted towards impact over the past 12 months. We also aim to have a list that – as much as is possible and plausible – reflects the astonishing breadth of the theatre industry. However, the list also seeks to reflect how the theatre and performing arts industry is, not what it aims to be, or we would like it to be.
The Stage 100 2023: 1 | 2 | 3-8 | 9-14 | 15-20 | London theatres | Regional theatres | Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | Opera and dance | Producers (commercial) | Producers (not-for-profit) | Actors | Independent creatives | Advocacy | Rising stars
Lorne Campbell, National Theatre Wales
Campbell is emphatic in his belief in the power of co-created theatre to tell the stories of Wales. This was exemplified in 2022 with the culmination of a four-year project, in which theatremakers were embedded in communities in Wrexham, resulting in a large-scale show, A Proper Ordinary Miracle, which played out on the city’s streets in November. NTW also led a Wales wide partnership to create a multimedia drama, GALWAD, which unfolded in real time over a week, on social media, on TV (with Sky Arts) and at live events, as part of Unboxed festival.
Jimmy Fay, Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Fay is the executive producer at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, which had a superb year on stage in 2022 – from the multilayered new musical Propaganda to Northern Ireland Opera’s smart revival of Into the Woods, a richly realised production of Brian Friel’s Translations and the dark, funny solo-show Big Man by Paul McVeigh. The Lyric is Northern Ireland’s most significant producing theatre, and takes its responsibility to the country’s artists seriously, delivering online skills development workshops, seed commissions and running a successful new playwrights programme.
David Greig and Mike Griffiths, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
In 2022, Greig’s musical version of Local Hero (co-written with Mark Knopfler) returned after Covid scuppered its 2020 run at London’s Old Vic. After a reworking and a change of director, it opened at Chichester Festival Theatre in October. In Edinburgh, the Lyceum’s programme included a revival of Tom McGrath’s Laurel and Hardy, the excellently performed The Scent of Roses by Zinnie Harris and its own take on A Christmas Carol. Greig also spoke out on how Scottish theatres were battling the impacts of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
Tamara Harvey and Liam Evans-Ford, Theatr Clwyd, Mold
A formidable team, Harvey and Evans-Ford continued to invest in Theatr Clwyd’s infrastructure in 2022 – preparations drew nearer for its £42 million capital redevelopment, which gets underway this year, and they took over the running of the William Aston Hall in Wrexham, with Glyndŵr University. This will be the final year of their partnership, however, as Harvey departs to Stratford-upon-Avon in June to lead the Royal Shakespeare Company with Daniel Evans.
Jackie Wylie, National Theatre of Scotland
Alan Cumming’s Robert Burns-inspired dance piece and Liz Lochhead’s adaptation of Medea were flagship events of last year’s Edinburgh International Festival, which National Theatre of Scotland followed up with the premiere of Rona Munro’s latest James play, James IV: Queen of the Fight. Other onstage highlights included new musical Orphans, adapted from the Peter Mullan film. Much of NTS’ work in 2022 comprised productions of scale – a deliberate move from Wylie to promote freelance employment opportunities for Scottish theatre workers.
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